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| South of town, where the wheat grows and the skyline is endless. |
Last week was my site visit for the town I will reside in for the next 2 years. As excited as I was to visit the idea of coming to terms with where I am, for how long and what that REALLY entails made for an emotionally exhausting week. Overall, I am looking forward to returning there and getting rooted.
After 8 hours on a long, white knuckle bus ride we rolled through the wheat fields, towards the Bale mountains in the skyline. Expecting a sleepy rural town, I was surprised when we rolled in alongside horse carts, busy pedestrians and tall speakers blaring Ethiopian top hits.
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| One of the more common forms of transportation |
Like any other Ethiopian town, invitations to share coffee with strangers are plentiful, the kids are anxious to meet you and every house, store and goat looks about the same. It is slowly feeling familiar and predictable. My town is mostly Muslim and we have 2 impressive mosques that dominate the skyline. Most of the time I am not awoken by the call to prayer, but I have yet to understand the timing. Beginning sometimes at 5:30am and ending at dark, I have yet to find a schedule for the loud songs which range from poetic to callous and sometimes are delivered with such fervor that the prayer is interrupted with coughing. The two other dominant religions in my town, and the rest of Ethiopia are Orthodox and Protestant Christians. Without a doubt, Ethiopians are far more civilized than Americans when it comes to religious tolerance. Religion is an important part of Ethiopian culture and self-identity, but it is not used to mistreat or segregate. It is simply an element of self identity, an inherent aspect of an individual, such as their race or the size of their family.
In between meeting the mayor, police force, students, store owners and strangers along the way I was quickly overwhelmed by names and faces of strangers asking me why I can’t remember their name. It was with great luck that I found my second counterpart: Bayu! A tour guide that has been well trained by Germain trekkers and anxious for the next phase of his career: getting tourists to guide! My town is near to the Bale Moutains, a major tourist stop, but the word has yet to spread about my town which is a hop and a skip from 5 day horseback-cabin trips in the mountains, trout fishing in nearby rivers, waterfall s, trekking and wildlife viewing. Bayu was quick to get my number and encourage me to see these sites for myself so I could gain the enthusiasm to work with him and promote eco-tourism in our town. Our first outing was to a nearby waterfall, which sounds pretty basic but was anything but:
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| 7km to this epic waterfall |
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| reason #101 why you want to come visit me |
Though each day was a swing from eagerness to homesickness and back again I am trying to remember to take things slowly, spend time quietly regaining my sanity and appreciate the simple things. On our return back to our training sites, a few other volunteers met up to discuss our site visits. Unlike some of my peers, I managed to get through the week without fleas, bed bugs, stolen cell phones, being in a taxi that ran over a pedestrian or going without a single decent shower. With this wake up call, I will remember to calm myself and count my many fortunes. Also this day marks my 1 month in PC! Hooray! With 26 more to go, it is a small notch on the belt, but maybe one of the more crucial months of my service as I am just building my foundation to be a great volunteer for my community.
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| Pedestrian bridge |
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| Reason #102 why you should: double bananas |
